Continuous beater and pulp selector



July 14, 1942. HqD. WELLS 2,289,512

CONTINUOUS BEA'IER AND PULP SELECTOR Filed April 1e, 17941 atented `luly M, 1942 UNl'rED STATES PATENr 2 Claims.

The invention aims to providea new and improved machine for converting various kinds of paper-making materials and the like into pulp suitable for paper-making, and for continuously discharging the screened pulp, the construction being such that a-single rotor acts not only to beat and circulate the stock-treating liquid, but acts also to keep the screen clean to permit continuous discharge of the pulp as it is reduced to the desired state of fineness.V

With the foregoing in view,th,e invention resides in the novel subject matter hereinafterdescribed and claimed,l ,description being accomplished by reference to the accompanying drawing.

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view partly in elevation.

Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view through the lower central portion of Fig. 1.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the rotor.

Figure 4 is a detail horizontal II-Il of Fig. 1. y

A preferred construction has been illustrated and will be rather specifically described, with rthe understanding, however, that within the scope of the invention as claimed, variations may be made.

A large tank 5 is provided having a feed hopper or the like 6-through which to feed the stock from which the pulp is to be formed, and at 'I I have illustrated an inlet pipe for the stocktreating liquid, and obviously the supply of both stock and liquid, or either of them, may be automatically controlled, if desired. At the juncture of the tank bottom 8 with the tank side wall, the tank is preferably provided with a curved con'- tinuous portion 9 which curves upwardly from said bottom to said side wall to facilitate the outward, upward and inward circulation of pulp illustrated by the arrows in'Fig. 1. The part I8 shown in Fig. 1 is simply a cover plate for a tank cleanout hole. g

'I'he tank bottom 8 is formed with a central l opening II of preferably circular outline, and

through this opening, a vertically disposed cylindrical casing I2 passes, said casing having a fluid-tight connection with the tank bottom which preferably includes a peripheral flange I3 on said casing suitably secured to said bottom. The major nportion of the casing I2 is in' the form of a pan disposed principally below the tank bottom 8 and provided with a screened pulp discharge pipe or the like I4. lThe bottom of this major casing' portion rigidly carries ia central upstandsection on line carries the upper end plate I6 of the casing, this end plate being upwardly spaced from the upper edge of the pan-like lower portion of the casing as shown in Fig..2. At the periphery of the casing, a cylindrical screen I1 extends between the casing top plate I6 and the pan-like lower portion vof the casing and is suitably secured t0 one or both thereof. This screen is preferably detachable to permit removal of a screen having one degree of fineness and substitution of another having a diierent degree of fineness, according to the state to which the pulp is to be reduced before discharge.

A vertical shaft I 8 extends upwardly through the sleeve I5 and is rotatably mounted in any appropriate bearing assembly I8a secured in said sleeve; The upper end of shaft I8 carries a rotor I9 which is disposed directly over the casing top plate I6, said rotor being substantially conical. The top of this rotor is provided with a plurality of blades 20 which beat the pulp and impe] it outwardly so that it will be caused to circulate as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1, said blades being preferably of `spiral form as shown in Fig. 3. The rotor'IQ also carries at least one and preferably a plurality of downwardly projecting arms 2| which are disposed at the periphery of the screen I'I in slightly spaced relation with this screen, said arms serving to keep the screen clean. The arms decline rearwardly with re-` spect to their direction o'f travel and are thus self-cleaning. These arms also diverge rear- .wardly from the screen I'I with respect to their direction of travel, as seen in Fig. 4. Thus, they will outwardly force the fluid pulp away from the screen and this pulp will immediately flow inwardly behind the arms, thus producing pulsa` tion of the pulp radially of the screen to facilitate pulp discharge and to aid also in keeping the screen clean.

Any desired means may be provided for rapidly driving. the rotor I9 and for this'purpose, I have illustrated a multiple V-belt drive 22 connecting the lower end of the shaft I8- with a electric motor 23.

`In operation, while the rotor is being rapidly driven, the stock and liquid for treating same are caused to circulate as shown by the arrows in Fig. 1` and during this circulation, the blades 20 perform an effective pulp beating operation to reduce the pulp forming material as required, and as this material' is sufficiently reduced, it continuously discharges through the screen I1. The arms 2| pulsate the pulp radially of the' screen ing sleeve I5 and the upper end at this sleeve 55 and serve as cleaners for the Latter. The pulping and screened pulp discharge operations may be continuously performed for any desired length of time, or if desired, the apparatus could be used for carrying out a batch process of pulp reduction instead of a continuous process. If the process is to be continuous, the stock is preferably automatically fed through the hopper 6 and the stock treating liquid is automatically fed through the pipe 1.

From the foregoing taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, it will be seen that novel and advantageous provision has been made for carrying out the object of the invention, and while preferred structural features have been illustrated, attention is again invited to the possibility of making variations within the scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim:

1. A paper-making-pulp beater and selector comprising a liquid and stock tank, a cylindrical pulp discharge screen disposed centrally of said tank and projecting upwardly from the tank bottom, saidv cylindrical screen having its axis disposed vertically and having its outer periphery directly exposed to the contents of said tank, a rotor over and in close proximity to said cylindrical screen and mounted on a vertical axis in concentric relation with said cylindrical screen, pitched blades secured to said rotor for beating the tank contents and centrifugally moving the same to produce an outward, upward, inward and downward circulation, and an arm secured to said rotor and projecting downwardly therefrom at the outer periphery of said screen, said arm serving to clean said screen and to radially pul-f sate the pulp immediately surrounding said screen, and means under said tank and communicating with the interior of said cylindrical screen for receiving the screened pulp discharg- 'ing through said screen.

2. A paper-making-pulp beater and selector comprising a. liquid and stock tank, the bottom of which is formed with a central opening, a lower cylindrical pan-like casing body the upper end of which is secured in said opening, said casing body having an outlet for the screened pulp located below said tank bottom, a central vertical sleeve` rigidly secured to the bottom of said casing'body and projectingfupwardly to a level above said body, a horizontal casing top plate centrally secured rigidly to the upper end of said sleeve, said top.plate being of circular outline and having its edge disposed 4directly over the cylindrical side wall of said casing body, a cylindrical screen extending from said casing top plate to said cylindrical side wall, a bearing assembly secured in said sleeve, a vertical shaft extending through said sleeve and mounted in said bearing assembly, a rotor secured to the upper end of said shaft and directly overlying said top plate, said rotor having circulating and beating blades for the tank contents and also having a downwardly projecting arm for cleaning said screen and radially pulsating the pulp flowing therethrough, and means under said tankl and connected with said shaft for driving lthe same.

HAROLD DONALD WELLS. 

